Elon Musk’s Twitter Begins To Remove Blue Checkmarks

() — Elon Musk’s Twitter on Thursday began a purge of the blue checkmarks of users who haven’t signed up for his subscription service. In this way, the brands of the accounts of journalists, academics and some celebrities disappeared.

The initial implementation of the change appeared to be quite problematic, as the blue “checks” disappeared and reappeared on some accounts. Several high-profile verified accounts didn’t seem to miss their marks either, at least at first.

Among the accounts that no longer have a blue check mark are the one for Pope FranciscoGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Twitter previously said it would “start reducing” the blue marks awarded under its old verification system, which emphasized protecting high-profile users at risk of impersonation, on April 1. To stay verified, Musk said, users would have to pay $8 a month to join the platform’s Twitter Blue subscription service, which has allowed accounts to pay for verification since December.

However, Twitter removed the checkmark from one Twitter account. The New York Timesan outlet Musk has repeatedly criticized, and changed the language on his site in a way that doesn’t specifically reveal why users are being verified.

Last week, Musk tweeted that the “final date to remove legacy blue checks is 4/20,” a date with special resonance for the billionaire businessman given its significance to marijuana enthusiasts.

The decision to go ahead with the change, after some mixed messages, is just the latest example of Musk’s Twitter changing the experience for users, and in this case, not just for users, but for many of the accounts. higher-profile ones that have long been a key selling point for the platform.

Prominent users such as actor William Shatner and anti-harassment activist Monica Lewinksy have previously balked at the idea that as power users calling attention to the site, they should pay for a feature that keeps them safe from phishing. identity.

Musk, for his part, previously introduced changes to Twitter’s verification system as a way to “treat everyone the same.”

“There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities,” he said in an earlier tweet. The paid feature could also generate revenue, which could help Musk, who is in significant debt after buying Twitter for $44 billion.